Paul supporters fail to round up enough Nebraska delegates

GRAND ISLAND — Ron Paul ‘s last stand in Nebraska failed today, as establishment Republicans fought off an attempt by Paul supporters to garner enough delegates at the state GOP convention to give Paul a shot at the national stage in Tampa, Fla., next month.

Paul supporters won only two of Nebraska’s 35 delegates to the national Republican convention, far short of the 18 they needed.

Even though Paul stopped campaigning months ago, his supporters had hoped to use a national party rule which allows a candidate to be nominated if they have a plurality of delegates in five states. Paul had four, and Nebraska was his last chance at five.

And although there was some worry that Nebraska’s state GOP convention could be chaotic and unruly – as happened in other states where Paulistas virtually took control of the convention – the convention went off without a hitch.

Early in the day, Paul supporters made several motions that tested the water, and it was clear they didn’t have the votes to offset the establishment Republicans. The leader of the Paul movement said Gov. Dave Heineman made a lot of phone calls to ensure Republicans remained allegiant to Mitt Romney. A strong Paul showing would have been an embarrassment to the governor, who was the first governor to endorse Romney and has been mentioned as a possible cabinet pick.

“The governor was well-organized,” said Laura Ebke, a blogger for Red State Electric and chairwoman of the Tea Party/Paul-supporting Republican Liberty Caucus. “We were out-numbered and that’s the way it works.”

GOP Chairman Mark Fahleson said the convention went better than he expected, and he credited Ebke and other Paul supporters for their professionalism, congeniality and cooperation. Ebke also credited Fahleson with running a “really fair convention.”

“We prepared for the worst and we got the best,” Fahleson said.

In his convention speech, outgoing national committeeman Pete Ricketts welcomed Paul supporters, saying the party needs them and has a big tent. He urged Paul supporters to stay involved, saying it’s about more than one person or one election.

“We’ve established a presence and we’ll be back,” Ebke said in an interview.

Heineman did not attend the convention because he was chairing the National Governors Association meeting in Virginia – while Louisiana’s governor skipped the governors’ meeting to speak at Nebraska’s convention.

Rising Republican star Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, skipped Virginia and went to Grand Island to stump for Romney. He has been mentioned as a potential Romney running mate.

Jindal praised U.S. Senate candidate Deb Fischer, calling her Democratic opponent Bob Kerrey “a fine American” who is on the wrong side of too many issues.

“We don’t need to bring New York values to Nebraska,” he said. “We might need to send Nebraska values to New York.”

Then he hammered away at President Obama, calling him “the most incompetent president since Jimmy Carter.” He said the recent Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare allows the government to tax “inactivity.”

Ron Paul has already won a plurality of delegates from at least 12 sates now . I don’t know what the big deal is with Nebraska . Even Fox News admitted it a month or so ago ….

Mr. David M. Berke

Dear Nebraska Watchdog,

You folks are full of “bleep”! Dr. and Congressman Ron Paul will be our next (45th) President of the United States of America! Oh, by the way—go “bleep” yourselves, you cowardly “bleeps”! You “bleeps” need to try AGAIN!

Sincerely,

Mr. Berke

(just another 59 year old U.S. citizen, taxpayer, native Californian, independent voter, and caring patriot who has had ENOUGH!)

from Mission Viejo, Orange County, California, U.S.A.

David Verner

Hey you are screwed up because they just started voting on delegates. You need get your timing better when releasing articles.

Deena Winter

They’re voting on alternates now.

Mark

Ron Paul needs to wake up and run 3rd party. That I`ll teach the GOP and Romney and his little gang of criminals not to mess with the Liberty movement

Tim Martin

The GOP has lost my vote (and confidence). To hell with this corrupt and hypocritical “conservative” (in name only) party.

i*Harper*Se

Governor Jindal’s words: “We don’t need to bring New York values to Nebraska,” he said. “We might need to send Nebraska values to New York.”

Okay: When is the GOP going to stop with this “New York: Bad” – “Nebraska Good” b.s. First off, it’s not true. Given Nebraska’s small size, the state can pretty much match any other in the area of corruption/injustice/misdeeds.

For example: How about the NU/NELNET/NU Foundation “Nebraska value” of receiving nearly $400 hundred million dollars of “unwarranted” U.S. Department of Education FEDERAL subsidies; part of those ill-gotten gains were a direct result of the 2004-2007 NU – NELNET “partnership” pushed by then-Vice Chancellor Kim Robak, (who after she left NU signed on NELNET to her lobbying firm for $45,000 per year ever since) Chancellor Perlman, & NU’s Regents.

NELNET – headquartered in good old Lincoln – scammed the government more than all the other predatory student loan companies in the country. By comparison, predatory student loan giant, Sallie Mae, of Virginia, knowingly took advantage of a “loophole” that gouged hard-working American taxpayers just $40 million to NELNET’s near-$400 hundred million.

Is that a Nebraska value.

But beyond that, any politician from Louisiana should not be lecturing Americans about “values” needing to be imported or exported from certain states given Louisiana’s reputation.

Truth be told, some political scientists swear that of all fifty state, Louisiana trumps much larger states in the corruption department as evidenced by Huey Long et al. although I don’t agree with that. Just sayin’ that a lot of folks do believe that Louisiana is the most corrupt state in the country bar none.

More proof that the Great Plains/Midwest is just like the East Coast:

Have you all not been following the mini-Madoff situation with

Russell Wasendorf Sr., chief of the Peregrine Financial Group, who has admitted STEALING more than $100 hundred MILLION dollars from his clients. He is from IOWA.

Cedar Falls, Iowa, to be precise which by Gov. Jindal’s logic, should feel far superior in the “values” department to New York, too.

That’s not odd. Nebraska is always behind the times. The Revolution will happen when just a little more people wake-up to see how badly we get screwed by “The Establishment’s” candidates from either side.

It was painful to hear, but he was speaking the truth. The opposite that has been force fed to you via major media, paid for by corporations that given power to screw you in anyway they see fit, granted by the politician you elected.

James Mason II

Commentors and supporters of Ron Paul keep missing an important fact of why Paul is not getting the support that his leadership is crying over. The problem of why Ron Paul is not getting the support you are all crying for is Ron Paul.

This traveling group of agitators attached themselves to Ron Paul as a source for them to try to remain valid.

Let’s try and separate the two from each other.

David Earl Williams III

From May 4th, 2012 as Foxnews already admitted that Ron Paul has already qualified to have his name on the ballot. The mainstream media hoax of “needing” Nebraska to win has been exposed.